Darkness Rising
by eksdipeymouszxc
Summary: Can he will find the strongest opponent that will re-ignite his passion for battles and save his humanity? Is his strength will be enough to preserve the human race from an enormous catastrophe?Let's follow Saitama's adventure, as he ventures this dangerous world with his new acquaintances and fight new powerful monsters to save the fate of the humanity.
1. Chapter 1 - The Escape

In a faraway land, on the depths of the enormous jungle, a large singular structure with a gray coloration can be spotted. It has 3 floors and a giant metal plated gate for the entrance. It has few windows and many mechanical robots and AI controlled vehicles can be seen entering the structure. These robots have the size ranging from human-sized to giant ones with towering 10 feet height and above. This is the Professor Bofoi's Laboratory #6. On this facility, mayhem is ongoing.

Alarms and sirens can be heard throughout the building as smoke covered the rooms. On the smoke, a mysterious figure appeared. This being has a tall structure, probably 7 foot or higher, wearing curved metal shoes, a large and heavy-looking gold plated armor with several spikes sticking out on the back, and a large red cape. This creature possesses a long pinkish-white spiky hair. He is known as the "Metal Knight's Ace". As he ventured through the smoke, two mechanical robots appeared on his front. The first one has a large rectangular body and a small oblate head with a singular rectangular eye. It possesses two long arms and legs with a giant mallet on the right hand and an enormous machete on the left one. The other robot has a bulkier built and holds no weapons, instead, it has giant spiked knuckles as a combat arsenal.

The mysterious being extended his armlet-covered right hand and focus it on the robot possessing weapons. As the robot raised its right arm, preparing to unleash an assault to the figure, the being accumulates a bluish-white orb of energy on his palm and fires it on the attacking robot, blowing it in the process. The other one tries to punch the mystery figure. But to its shock, the being didn't flinch a little bit as the approaching fist hits his face. The figure didn't move and the attack seems haven't damaged him. The being lowers his right hand and extended his left arm, as he grips the arm of the robot, restricting it from moving. As he raised his right hand and press it on the chest of the robot, he releases the same bluish-white orb, obliterating the mechanical robot in the process.

As the figure walks, metal colliding on the floor, creating a large crack and a loud sound as the alarms continue to ring. As he approached the middle of a quite spacious room,5 identical robots appeared Each robot possesses small explosive missiles launcher on their shoulders, a giant cannon for the right arm and a minigun for a left arm. As the robots fire their artillery, explosions will be heard as the missiles hit the being. Metal clings can be heard as the miniguns' bullets hit the gold armor. The figure, just like before, didn't flinch a little bit and didn't bother to protect himself from the assault .After the mayhem ended and the smoke cleared, the being extended his two arms, firing orbs of energy to the mechanical robots, creating consecutive explosions as the robots being blasted one by one. After the explosions, the being uses his two arms to create a smaller but seemingly more powerful orb of energy. As he continues to form the orb, he stated, "What a waste of metal."The deep voice roared throughout the area as he finished forming the orb, holding it on his right arm as he began to bend his knees and extend his left arm before he slammed the orb on the floor using his right hand.

A loud boom indicating a giant explosion can be heard throughout the jungle. The whole facility has been turned into rubble. The nearby trees and plants got burned because of the explosion. On the middle of the debris, the being is still standing. The armor unscathed nor have any dents. His face is hidden because of the smoke. As the smoke fades away, the being jumped, creating a large crater on the place and sends much debris to fly away because of the force of the jump, as he flies out of the forest in an instant. This event has been observed by a small lone drone with a body shaped like a bug. The drone's antenna wiggles as it tries to transmit the video of the event. The footage has been sent to the owner, the S-Class Rank 6 Metal Knight. As he observed the footage caught by his spy drone, light flashes his face as the event has been seen by his eyes. After watching the whole footage, his face turned dark as the onslaught happened to his laboratory flashed to his mind."This will be a disaster."He stated as he leaves the room where he watched the whole scene as he thinks what his greatest advancement would do after he escaped."The association must not learn about this event or else they will view me as a threat, ruining all of my works and hardships to achieve my plans" he said before closing the door of the room, covering it on darkness.

At Dr. Kuseno's laboratory, he was upgrading Genos' body. He enhances the power of the Incinerate by upgrading the arms' circuitry and adding a core per each arm, to make sure the energy consumption of Genos' main core will be reduced by a large margin. He also improved the toughness of the metal parts of Genos by adding two layers of carbon plating that have hardness can be compared to the precious diamonds. He also fixed and upgraded the joints and the boosters of Genos' arms, making it harder for the foes to dismember his arms and further boosting the power of his incineration attacks. He improved the boosters on Genos' shoulders to add more speed and agility. He also adds two compartments on Genos' abdomen that contains two backup cores. And he also improved Genos' vision to easily track fast and agile opponents like Speed O Sound Sonic.

After the upgrades are completed, Dr. Kuseno asked Genos.

"What are you going to do now Genos? You said your distrust to the Hero Association."He wonders what his plans are.

"I am going to resign to the association and will participate in the new hero organization,"Genos answered, with a deep tone to his voice.

"Are you going to tell Saitama your decisions or not?"He asked, thinking if he is going to tell all of this to his sensei.

"I don't know for sure. Maybe I will not go to talk to sensei if needed to."Genos is unsure if he's going to say this to his sensei. He thought that telling him may bring some trouble.

"How's your quest to be stronger? I am pretty sure that leaving him will affect your road to gain strength." said with a worried tone of his voice. He knows that this boy strives to get stronger to beat the evil cyborg.

"I will find ways to become stronger, with or without sensei" Genos answered while he bumps his fist twice on his chest. He's pretty confident that he will get stronger without his sensei.

"Remember Genos. I will always here to support your decisions and will help you to gain more power. But remember, don't be so reckless and focus on your goal, and remember our goal huh." reminded.

"Yes. I will continue our search to find at cyborg while doing my hero duties and finding ways to gain strength."

After the conversation, Genos left the laboratory, saying his farewell to , as he will venture to the cruel world, without the help of his sensei.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Visit

The A Class Hero Saitama or "The Caped Baldy", much to his hate and disgust, is now traveling towards to the Heroes Association Hospital as he will visit "a person", more likely "a monster" from his perspective. He's wearing his favorite "OPPAI" hoodie, while carrying a white plastic bag full of fruits on his right hand. He's wearing simple blue slippers and black shorts.

The hospital is a huge ass building. It has 12 floors and is painted black, similar to the Heroes Association Headquarters. As he reached the entrance of the hospital, a glass door automatically opened then he stepped to enter the building. Much to his surprise, the ground floor is enormous!There are a lot of black-painted metal chairs. The counter is located on the right side of the room. There are numerous of decorative plants for decoration, white wooden doors with a sign hanging in the middle, containing a number that indicates the number of the room. And there are two elevators on the top right and left of the area. Saitama began to walk towards the counter after he observed the room. As soon as he approaches the counter, he asked the lady.

"Umm Miss, did you know the room of ...what is it again...umm...Tamasuki? He asked the lady, which is kind of confused.

The lady focused her eyes on the monitor of the computer to search the name the bald man mumbled. She found no results for "Tamasuki"."Uh, Sir, there is no patient that has a name of 'Tamasuki' on this hospital." The lady answered politely even though she's confused.

Saitama is pretty sure she is here. Fubuki said that her sister currently recovering in this hospital and he really wants to see the girl. He thought that maybe describing her may help."Oh, she is a hero, S Class Rank 2, have psychic powers."He said to the lady, expecting an answer.

"Oh you're looking for Miss Tatsumaki, The Tornado of Terror."The lady answered with a surprised face, because of the fact that this guy pronounced Tatsumaki's name wrong and she has a visit, knowing that she has no friends at all.

" _It works._ " Now he's going to find that woman."Yeah, you're right! That brat. I'm not good at remembering names. "The lady was surprised again. This man is seriously has a retarded brain and he calls Tatsumaki a brat! This guy must have some serious brain damage "By the way, where is her room?"

"She's in the room the elevator to the right and heads toward to the 10th floor."The lady said as he pointed her finger on the elevator on the right.

Saitama followed what the lady said. As he enters the elevator, there are two men having a conversation with each other. They talked about the new uprising group of heroes called "Heroes Operatives".Saitama thought that the name is too sophisticated and sounds suspicious, not that it bothers him anyway. Also, they talked about the sudden resignation of some of the heroes from the Heroes Association, including an S-Class Hero. The rumors said that these heroes are recruited by the "Heroes Operatives", though this is not proven anyways and possibly just a hoax. There is another rumor that a pack of highly advanced and powerful monsters that is now secretly planning out an assault against the Heroes Association. Not much is known about this group yet but it's similar to the now disbanded Monster Association, but with a lot more members.

As Saitama finished eavesdropping on the conversation and reached the 10th floor, he stepped out of the elevator as he searched for the room he's seeking. The whole floor is huge as it holds 50 rooms, much to Saitama's annoyance. He asked himself why the association has a huge ass hospital. It must be for money for sure. The sheer amount of rooms on this enormous building outnumbered the total number of heroes registered. He searches for the room of the esper girl. He is very annoyed that there are a lot of rooms on this floor and the number of persons on this floor bothers him, as these people walking, going in and out of the room, blocking some pathway and vision.

"494,495,496,497 Aha! Gotcha! Found you! "Saitama exclaimed in joy as he found the room. He knocked the door twice. No one answered as he waits for five seconds. He opened the door, which is surprisingly not locked. He saw Tatsumaki on a patient gown, lying on the bed.

Tatsumaki was surprised there was knocking on the door. She didn't felt the psychic powers of her sister Fubuki so she's sure it's not her. Who would be that person and why would he/she bothers to pay her a visit. She doesn't have friends unlike Fubuki, so this knocking makes her surprised and confused. She thought it will be personnel from the Association. Her train of thoughts suddenly stopped as the door opened, as she sees the person she's unlikely wanted to see." _Bald Bastard_ " Tatsumaki thought.

He casually entered the room and walk beside the bed."Hey uh um Takatsuki?" Saitama said with a confused face, because of the fact that he's forgotten the name of the girl again even though someone has reminded him earlier. Tatsumaki was so surprised that this baldy paid her a visit and she did not expect him to pronounce her name wrong, much to her annoyance.

Tatsumaki goes into a sitting position as she heard what he said."IT'S TATSUMAKI! TAT-SU-MA-KI!"She shouted at the dumbfounded baldy. She's so upset because of the fact that her most hated person arrived and mispronounced her name.

"You did not need to-"Saitama was about to talk when she interrupted.

"TAT-SU-MA-KI! SAY IT!"She demanded to Saitama, which burns a lot of Saitama's patience. He followed her anyways.

"TAT!-"

"Tat-"

"SU!-"

"Su-"

"MA!-"

"Ma-"

"KI!"

"Ki"

"By the way, why are you here 'BALDY'?" Tatsumaki wondered why he of all the persons in the whole world is here in her room. The remark "baldy" hit Saitama hard. He takes it seriously.

"THE FUCK YOU SAY MIDGET! Saitama retorted to the remark of Tatsumaki. She cannot hold her patience when somebody said something about her childish looks. This will likely begin a war.

"YOU REALLY SAID IT YOU EGGHEAD!"

"I'M REALLY ANNOYED OF YOU BRAT!"

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU SAID AVOCADO!

"LIGHT BULB!"

"LITTLE RUNT!"

"KNEECAP!

"DWARF!"

"OCTOPUS!"

"YOU'RE THE OCTOPUS!

"BALDY!"

"MIDGET!"

"ITS NOT I LIKE TO HAVE THIS HEIGHT!"

"IT'S NOT THAT I LIKE TO HAVE A BALD HEAD EITHER!"

"GRRHH"

"Look we're going nowhere here. What's your question earlier."Saitama said, completely pissed at the fact that he's having an insult war against the midget, much to his annoyance.

"I am asking why are you here!"Tatsumaki answered. She can't believe that someone would go toe-to-toe to her on an insult battle.

"Oh yeah right. I bring you some fruits. Here take it." Saitama said as he drops the plastic bag with fruits on it on the small table near the bed.

Tatsumaki was feeling mixed emotions right now. She felt annoyed at the fact that the person who beat her was giving her a pity. She felt surprised because the bald guy showed her some kindness. She's confused why this man is showing her some kindness, bothering himself to go here just to give fruits to her. And lastly, she felt happiness because of the fact that someone's showing her kindness and there's someone who actually cared for her besides Fubuki and that one-time Blast saved her. But the fact that it was the baldy who cares about her make her feel embarrassed. She felt her cheeks starting to heat up as she blushed, which is definitely new to her.

"I don't need your concern to me but thanks anyway. I didn't expect this, especially to you, baldy."Tatsumaki thanked him. Saitama was shocked. He knows damn well that midget is arrogant and prideful yet she thanked him. Maybe she was really bad at making friends. He replied "No probs."Saitama sees her face to starting to grow red and heating up. Something must be wrong with the girl.

"Hey, what's wrong? Your face is turning red."Saitama asked, worried if she's sick.

Noticing that he sees her blush, she faced away to him and quickly muttered loudly "Ohh it's nothing! Nevermind that thing."Shit this is so embarrassing...

Saitama remembered his true purpose of going here. "I want to say something to you umm Tatsumaki. It's kinda personal." The tone of his voice was deep, it must me a serious thing. She wondered what this "personal thing" is he wants to say to her. " _Did he liked me? ... Why would I think of that nonsense and why would I entertain that kind of thoughts anyway. This_ baldy _is a real pain in the ass._ " Her brain now is messed up because of him. Suddenly, the baldy began to speak again.

"I am here to remind you that-" his words were cutted by Tatsumaki. He's surprised. He thought that the esper can read minds, so she cutted him out.

"Yeah yeah I know that. Why would I forget our rematch? I will recover, get out of this damn hospital, then will fight you and flatten you up for few seconds."Tatsumaki quickly cut in. She concluded that the baldy wants to remind her of their rematch. She cannot believe that he wants to fight her badly, going up here to just remind her, not that she was forgotten about it anyways.

Saitama was surprised to what she just said. He completely forgot their rematch.

"Oh yeah right. Thanks for reminding me I kinda forgotten about that." Saitama said to the girl sitting on the bed.

"Huh you have forgotten about it? How-". She's about to unleash her fury against him because he forgot their rematch but he cut in, much to her annoyance.

"I want to remind you that you destroyed my house and you need to pay for the damage you cost to me." Saitama said to the dumbfounded girl on the bed. " _That's his personal thing he wants to say? He's doing all of this shit so he will get paid?! He's a total moron if he thinks I care about those shit he's babbling about!_ "

"Do you think I care for that baldy? If you think yes then you're wrong! I don't care for those shits!"Tatsumaki said to the poor man on her front.

"Because of your little stunt, my house, MY HOUSE! IS! DESTROYED! YOU'RE A HERO AND YOU NEED TO PAY ALL OF YOUR COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO THOSE YOU HURT!" Saitama was mad because of the fact that this girl didn't even bother to take care of her damages to him.

"BALDY LOOK! I DONT CARE TO YOUR HOUSE OR TO THE DAMAGE I CAUSED ON THAT CITY. I AM DOING MY JOB ON THAT TIME YOU IDIOT. AND YOU'RE A HERO TOO SO WHY WOULD I CARE ON YOUR DAMN HOUSE IF YOU'RE PROTECTING IT?!" Tatsumaki was enraged because of the foolishness of the baldy. " _He's a damn hero why did he not protect his own house?!_ "

"I WAS ON THAT MONSTER HIDEOUT BECAUSE ITS TOO NOISY IN THE NIGHT SO HOW WOULD I PROTECT MY HOUSE IF I WASN'T THERE AND YOU'RE AN S-CLASS HERO SO YOU NEED TO PAY FOR YOUR DAMAGES OR ELSE THE PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU'RE JUST A PSYCHO MIDGET PLAYING AS A HERO!LOOK AT YOUR DAMN SURROUNDING BEFORE DOING THAT STUNT OF YOURS! Saitama is now steamingly mad because of the attitude of the esper.

"I DONT CARE WHAT THEY WILL THINK ABOUT ME, SO WHY WOULD I BOTHER TO YOUR PROBLEMS. FIX YOUR HOUSE YOURSELF I DONT FUCKING CARE TO YOU!" Tatsumaki shouted to the enraged baldy.

"AS A PART OF THAT NEIGHBORHOOD, I DEMAND YOU TO PAY FOR YOUR DAMAGES ON THAT AREA! ITS YOUR FUCKING RESPONSIBILITY!" Saitama can't stand this anymore. All of those memories he has on that place is embedded in his thick skull and he would not let it go because of that midget's attitude. His face becomes details of his face are now face went full anime-mode.

"WHAT THE HELL. THAT AREA HAS NO RESIDENTS BESIDES YOU CRAZY BALD MORON. ITS ABANDONED AREA SO WHY WOULD I CARE TO THE DAMAGES IVE DONE IF ITS ALREADY RUINED!" She can't believe that bald bastard was living on a monster prone area and he's demanding for it to be fixed. As she looked to the baldy on his front, his face seems different from the goofball head she's accustomed details are sharper than before. He looks so pissed as she feels a dark menacing aura creeping out of him that will devour anything in its sight. This is the first time she felt terror on the man on her front and she can't believe she's scared to death about that man. The dread he's emitting gave her chills onto the insides of her bones and make her sweat a lot.

"Look.I have an idea. If I win on our rematch, you will pay for your damages. If you win, do whatever you want." Saitama said to the knows this will go nowhere if they continue their argument. He already wants to go out of this hospital because of the annoying brat and he wants to get to the supermarket to buy some stuff on the sale. He definitely doesn't want to miss that.

Tatsumaki sees the sharp face of the baldy turned to the normal goofball face. She felt relief that the terror she experienced on the guy vanished. She really can't believe how that the man scared her. She never felt that emotion for so long. The last time she felt that was when she was a kid.

"Okay baldy." She said with a little fear in her voice. The baldy seems didn't notice it.

"That's the deal. Okay, I gonna leave you now because I don't want to miss a sale on the supermarket. Eat that fruits so you will recover fast." Saitama said as he began to walk to the door.

"Yeah Sure Whatever. I will recover and stomp your face on the ground! Now get out of my sight!" Tatsumaki said with a confident smile on her face.

"Oh by the way. After you recover, train yourself for our rematch. See ya!" He stated on the girl as he opened the door and leave.

Tatsumaki was dumbfounded on that baldy. She experiences different emotions to that goofball head on the same day. She was shocked because he made her felt scared and happy at the same time. It's been a long time when she felt those emotions. She was shocked how that man made her scared. She will never forget the menacing,s light-devouring aura. He's sure very different when he's angry. She felt dread for what will going to happen to their match. She was thinking what if she quit. But the thought of forfeiting on that baldy makes her ego and pride shattered.

She was shocked because he shows some kindness to her. She didn't know that man concealed some kindness to his heart, which explains why he was a hero. No one has ever been that kind to her. And he withstanding her attitude makes her think this baldy is so damn special, able to resist her attitude which no one even Fubuki cannot withstand. And she's even more shocked that he wants her to train herself. She wonders why the man wants her to train.

" _Is he thinking I am weak? That I need to get stronger than I am now to fight him? Is he looking down on me? This baldy is so damn weird. He makes me think many thoughts and make me feel mixed the fuck are you, baldy?_ " This train of thoughts makes her sleepy as she lays her head on the pillow and goes to a sleep.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Arrival

As Saitama left the room, his thoughts began to wander on the midget psycho he's visited. The fact that she reminded him about the rematch they have makes him think if the esper can give him an exciting fight, not that he want to hurt her. This is the first time he was excited about a match, because of the fact that he will get paid (knowing that he will surely win) and has a hypothetical exciting fight. He's not sure how exactly powerful is that girl, knowing that their first initial fight(more of a squabble, he didn't attack even once) she was not giving her full power, after all, she's recuperating from her wounds on the Monster Raid. How exactly powerful she is and how much powerful she is compared to Fubuki.

Speaking of Fubuki, she was going to visit her sister, which is kind of weird after all because they try to kill each other. She saw the baldy going out on the elevator; obviously, he's a thinking state. Without him noticing her, she quickly approaches the baldy, wondering why he is here in the first place.

"Hey, Saitama!What brings you here?" Fubuki greeted the baldy. He was shocked at first, not knowing Fubuki was on his front, not noticed her while he's walking. He's sure preoccupied at the moment.

"Oh. Hey, Fubuki. You surprised me!"The baldy greeted back.

"What are you doing here, did you visited someone?" Fubuki asked. She's not sure why he is here. Maybe visited someone...But who would it be? A relative? Maybe not, considering he's always alone in his house(except for Genos though as he always visited his sensei. But he's quite missing right now.),and no relatives of his are visiting him, considering the fact that his previous house was a monster hideout. Her thoughts were cut when he began to speak.

"Oh, I am here because I visited your sister."He answered her question.

She's completely shocked. Because of the fact that her sister gets a visit, and that he was one of the persons who would unlikely visit her. She knows damn well that their blood boils when they see each other.

"Woah, Really?!Why do you visit her anyway?"She quickly asked the baldy. She wants to know the reason why would he visit her.

"Oh. I brought her some fruits so she can recover faster." This answer of the man makes Fubuki wonder even more. He did not only visit her but also brought her fruits. He's so concerned on my sister. And kind to her as well. Why would he will be concerned for her? They always argue a lot and now he's kind to her? " _Maybe he likes her…"_

"Why are you concerned about her? Did you like her or something?" This question of her makes Saitama nearly choked on his own saliva. The thought of himself dating the midget is unimaginable for him. He would never think somebody will ask him about this kind of stuff. He cleared his thoughts and answered her question.

"Actually, I visited her because I want to say something to her. It's kind of personal."Saitama explained. He hopes that the girl in front of him would not ask more questions regarding that stuff. But his answer is a bit off-topic, further fueling the curiosity of the younger esper.

"What is that "Personal" thing that you want to say to her? You did not answer my question before. Besides I'm curious if you really like my sister or not."Fubuki questioned the baldy again. She can't imagine those two would be nice to each other let alone a proper relationship. But she thought that maybe a relationship would make her sister less crazy and would let her alone.

Saitama was very embarrassed right now. This girl is persistent to know something about his love life, basically, he doesn't have one right now and he's not interested in girls. Saitama's patience began to slip off.

"WHY THE HELL WOULD I LIKE HER?! WE CANT GET ALONG PRETTY WELL LET ALONE A RELATIONSHIP!QUIT ASKING ME LIKE THAT!"Saitama exclaimed at the girl, barely hiding his anger. Fubuki was surprisingly not shocked to what she heard. It's obvious that they not like each other. She kind of expected his answer.

"Then what is that "Personal" thing you said to her?" Fubuki questioned the baldy again. She wonders what is that personal thing is. Saitama was really in a rush for now. He did not want to be late on the sale on his favorite supermarket.

"I reminded her that she needs to pay for my house she destroyed. Well, she reminded me of our rematch so we make a deal. If I win the match she will pay, if she wins she will do anything she wants to do to me."Saitama explained to the raven-haired woman."Oh okay. Well, I want to thank you for visiting her, this is the first time except me visited her."She was happy that someone cares for her sister, which is a very rare event indeed.

"Oh, I want you to remind her that she needs to train. Sorry Fubuki but I need to go or else I will be late on the sales. See ya."He said very quickly on the girl before he ran outside of the building.

"That's strange. Well, he's always strange. And he wants my onee-san to train herself for their battle? Did he have a death wish?Well, anyways I gotta go to visit my sis."Fubuki thought to herself as she goes to the elevator.

Fubuki has reached the room of her sister. She felt nervous. Well, she's always nervous when her sister is nearby. She tried to knock but the door instantly opened up, revealing her now awoke sister sitting on the bed.

Tatsumaki was sleeping when she felt the psychic power of her sister. This made her awake from her sleep. " _It's another visitor and its Fubuki nonetheless. Why is she visiting me?_ " She thought. She wondered why Fubuki will visit her " _Now_ ".

"Why are you here Fubuki?" Tatsumaki sternly asked the younger sister. This made Fubuki sweat a lot. She is so nervous and she knows that her sister knows too that she is nervous.

"Onee-san." This is what Fubuki successfully said to her sister.

"Come in" Tatsumaki ordered her. "We will have some family talk."

Fubuki just followed her sister's order. She entered the room and spotted on the single wooden chair close to the table where Saitama put his fruits for her sister. The fruits are in a white plastic and it shows no signs that Tatsumaki has touched those.

Fubuki has some foods for her sister. She brings some fruits, a packed lunch, and some candy, which is Tatsumaki's favorite.

"I want to give this to you sis. Hope you feel better right now."Fubuki said as she put the foods to the table,close to the fruits of Saitama.

"I don't need your pity but thanks anyway Fubuki." Tatsumaki thanked the younger esper. This shocked the younger esper. It's a rare occurrence that her sister thanked anybody.

"Well, I am asking you why you are here?" Tatsumaki asked her younger sister. Fubuki has no real valid reason why she visited her except for bringing some goods. Even though they fight and tried to kill each other (well on Fubuki's perspective), Tatsumaki is her only real family member right now and she cannot afford to lose her.

"I just want to see if you're okay one-san. And I want to give you this food. As it turns out you're quickly recovering." Fubuki answered. She was slightly happy that her sister is recovering fast. Well, to be honest, Tatsumaki is a tougher one. It's normal for her to recover quickly.

"Well, that's the only reason I am here so I need to go now, sis," Fubuki said. She doesn't want to stay for long as it will turn out to be a quiet scene.

"I want to say something to you Fubuki," Tatsumaki said. Her tone of voice makes Fubuki nervous again. She thought that her sis will go told her about breaking those connections to the other people. She is so much different to her. And she doesn't want to be like her that has no friends. And she's tired of her sister trying to break those connections.

"I know what are going to say. You want to say to me that I don't need other people and I must break the connections to them. I want to say to you one-san that-" Fubuki was cut by her sister.

"I want to thank you for visiting me," Tatsumaki said to the younger esper, with a genuine smile flustered on her face. Fubuki was surprised that her sister thanked her again. It's out-of-character for her.

"Ohh...Sorry for that onee-san. I thought you're going to-" Fubuki was cut again by the older esper.

"I know. Fubuki, I know that we're different but what am I trying to do is make you strong, stronger than me. I saw your great potential but you're misleading yourself." Tatsumaki said to her sister. Fubuki was astonished that her sister wants her to surpass her. But still, losing her friends must not be a sacrifice to overwhelming strength.

"You're deluding yourself on top by leading a group of those B-Class nothings. If you are weak and your subordinates cannot save you, who's gonna save you?" Tatsumaki asked. Fubuki was completely silent now, absorbing all of the words her sister. She doesn't know what to say.

"See? That's what I am trying to do. I want you to use your hidden potential so you will not need my help on facing this world and become an independent person like me. I don't want your potential to be wasted on those B-Class weaklings. I want you to surpass me and I will do anything for that to happen." Tatsumaki stated. She is well surprisingly calm when she's saying this, which is an obvious change in her attitude.

"But sis, I love my Fubuki Group. I founded it with my own hands. I supported them to their problems as they did to me. They are like my family right now."Fubuki answered back. She didn't want her precious connections to her group to be broken. The very first reason why she built it is to surpass her sister by means of strength in numbers.

"I just want to understand what I am doing is for your own good. I don't want to argue about this again. But remember this 'When the time comes, don't go expecting someone to come save you'." Tatsumaki said the words that Blast said to her. Those words are what fueling her to be stronger and she wants her sister to surpass her. Those words echoed in Fubuki's ears. The sentence gave chills to her spine.

"I gotta go now, sis. I was really busy. And by the way, Saitama wants to remind you that you need to train." Fubuki said to Tatsumaki, trying herself to be calm. She remembered what that baldy wants to say. It's a real mystery he wants her sister to train for their rematch. Nobody except for him would want Tatsumaki to train for their fight. It's like making a death wish.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever."Tatsumaki answered back as Fubuki opened the door and leave. She actually thought of training for their fight. She didn't want to admit it but she was worrying if even at her full power she may not defeat the baldy. All of her attacks didn't damage him even a single bit. It's like he doesn't feel pain or anything at all. She has already thought of the training regimen she's going to use, the problem is if she will train at all. Now she decided that she will train for that baldy's wish and for her benefits.

Genos was now walking towards a tall black building much similar to the Heroes Association HQ. This is the Heroes Operatives HQ, a new organization of heroes who are ready to dedicate and sacrifice their lives for the safety of humanity. Genos has already resigned to the Heroes Association, due to trust issues and the association's flawed system. He hasn't said this sudden resignation and transfer to his sensei. It has been a week after the Monsters Association Raid and he hasn't met Saitama. Genos is now focusing on the search for evil cyborg that ruined his town.

As he reached the building, he opened the door, revealing a nice looking young lady that greeted him.

"Hello, . Welcome to the Heroes Operatives' HQ. The new heroes were having a meeting right now. I will guide you to the room where it was held. Please follow me." The lady politely said to Genos. He followed her anyway.

As they walk to the hallway, he was thinking what is he going to face today. He heard some heroes here are said to be powerful and maybe can defeat a Dragon Level Threat by themselves. He also heard that other heroes from the Association from Class-C to Class-A was resigned on the Association and joined this organization. As far as he knows, he is the only S-Class Hero from HA that joined HO (Heroes Operatives).

They reached a gigantic door, which leads to the meeting room. As the pair entered, they saw a large room that has a similar structure to an auditorium. There are a lot of seats but some of them are unoccupied. The speaker is standing on the large stage, while there are presentations projected by a projector showing the amounts of Human Casualties and Monster Attacks.

"Oh, it's you, Mr. Genos. Welcome, you may take your seat." The speaker said to him. He followed him and gets his own seat.

He observed the heroes inside the room. He saw some of the most powerful heroes on the HO. He has some information about his fellow heroes. The knight duo Donovac and Lut'Hiran, both covered on their armor. Lut'Hiran was wearing a set of red knight armor with a large ax as a weapon while Donovac was wearing a set golden armor and he wields a giant shield and a lance as weapons. The duo is known for their bravery, strength and their divine powers gained through heavy worship to their divine entities.

The infamous Siege Engineer Marithus is also at the meeting. He wields a customized sword that is also known as a ranged weapon that blasts shells and bombs. He wears gold shoulder also wears armored shorts, metal boots, and armlets. He is known as a genius combatant, expert on firepower and sword mastery.

The duo assassin Lu Yunfei and Qui Yuelan also makes an appearance on the meeting. LuYunfei wears a blue and silver chest armor, shoulder pads, armlets, armored pants and black boots. He has done his hair in a high ponytail. He is known as the "Lightning Assassin". His weapon was a blue double-edged curved sword, which holds the power of lightning and electricity, according to the rumors. His partner was the "Illusion Assassin" Qui Yuelan, a master of illusion and deception. She wears a classical red Chinese dress and her weapon is just like Lu Yunfei's but instead has a greenish coloration. The duo is known for quick executions of Tiger and Demon Threats and can handle or kill a Dragon Threat Level Monster if they work together.

Those heroes are not well known because of the fact that they're not part of the HA. But still many people know them. The HA even tried to recruit them but to no avail, not even one of them agreed to join.

Also, there are some heroes he recognized as former heroes on the HA. He recognized them as C to B-Class with minor A-Class members. They must have some problems on the HA too. Genos stopped staring to his fellow heroes as he began to listen to the speaker.

"I will be the speaker for this meeting. I will introduce to you the basic info, rules, policies, and goals of this organization.

The Heroes Organization was founded by Mr. Matogari. He is a man with a sole purpose of aiding the heroes in spreading peace and protection. He is a former associate of the founder of the Heroes Association's founder Mr. Agoni. He was the man behind the famous "Disaster Level Threat Scale".

The main purpose of this organization is to gather the heroes that are willing to put their lives on the front of calamities to save the lives of civilians. With the increasing amount of monsters popping out, the Heroes Association will be not enough to provide safety to the civilians.

The Heroes Operatives has rules and regulations that all heroes must learn to easily manage the attacks of monsters etc.

Rule #1: Heroes must perform their hero duties at least once a month. Heroes must do their job to maintain the safety of the population. It's up to you what actions you will take to meet your hero responsibilities. Any heroes failing to perform their hero duties at least once in a month will be removed from the list.

Rule #2: Heroes must report their performances at least once per month. These reports will be used by the association as data for the ranking system. These data will be also used for assigning special missions. If you cannot provide a report for your hero actions at least once in a month, a deduction on ranking will be issued on 1st offense, 1-month suspension for 2nd offense, and elimination to the list on 3rd offense.

Rule #3: Heroes must cooperate with other heroes. Newbie crushing, bullying and any other violent action towards to your fellow heroes are prohibited. The heroes who will fail to follow this rule will be removed from the list. And any helpful action towards to your fellow heroes such as aiding them in battle will guarantee a boost to the ranking, which will depend on the degree of the action.

There are other specific rules written in the handbook that will be provided later. These three rules are the basics and the most important. Now we will proceed to the ranking system.

There are 4 tiers of the ranking system. Tier I is the bottom of the ranking list. All new heroes are placed in this tier unless there are some special requirements or achievements fulfilled that will provide a higher tier right from the start. Tier I heroes are assigned to focus on any misbehaviors such as thieves, terrorists, Wolf-level monsters or threats, etc. Also Tier I heroes are assigned to gather information on any activities in the city.

Tier II is a higher tier above Tier I. Tier II heroes are assigned to fight Wolf to Tiger level monsters or threats. Also, Tier II heroes can be assigned to aid higher tier heroes, depending on the degree of the threat. To reach this tier, you must reach rank 1 on Tier I. You will be given a choice to either stay on your position or move

up.

Tier III is a much higher tier. Tier III heroes are assigned to fight Tiger to Demon level monsters or threats. Tier III heroes can be assigned to aid Tier IV heroes, depends on the degree of the threat. To reach this tier, you must reach rank 1 on Tier I. You will be given a choice to either stay on your position or move up.

Tier IV is the highest tier of the ranking system. Tier IV heroes are assigned to fight Demon-Dragon level monsters and threats. Only a few chosen heroes can reach this tier. The association will decide on choosing the heroes to appoint on this tier.

And I have a reminder. This ranking system does not reflect the strength of an individual hero. It reflects the capacity of the hero to fulfill his/her duty to protect those who in need.

This is all that we will talk about. Now I will conclude this meeting. Do your best heroes. Protect humans and fulfill your hero duties. The handbooks will be given later shortly"

Genos has absorbed all of the information leaked by the speaker. This information shows how HO was a lot different on the HA. But still, he felt something was wrong on the HO as if it will going to brew new problems to the country. It's more of a gut instinct and he doesn't know why he feels it. Shortly after, a group of personnel who carrying the handbooks arrive on the auditorium. They give the handbooks to all of the heroes present at the meeting. After he gets his handbook, he proceeds to leave the area.

"Yo Former S-Class Hero, 'Demon Cyborg' Genos" A tall man, probably 6'10 - 7 feet tall, wearing a black hoodie, with some black armors attached to the shoulders and chest. He's wearing long black pants that's covered in armor too. On his belt, two guns can be seen attached to it. And also he has a large gun hanging on his back. His face was hidden in the shadows of his hood.

"I'm Lebmont. The Demon Hunter. Nice to meet yah!" The hero stated his name to Genos. Lebmont is a true powerhouse. He uses his top-notch guns to execute Tiger and Demon Threat levels. Also, this weapon as not on their final stage or form, showing that these weapons can actually kill Dragon Threat Levels, which is far beyond to Genos' weapons before. But thanks to his new upgrade, he may possibly take out a dragon level now.

"What brings you here on the HO, Genos?" Lebmont asked.

"I have some trust issues on the HA." Genos sternly answered. His stare on the guy never fades.

"Whoa! Calm down mate I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just curious why you will throw away yer position on the top of the S-Class heroes of the HA. I just HA is really going to fall down now, losing a big asset like you…."

"Why you didn't join the HA before Lebmont?" Genos asked, curious why a powerful individual like him did not join the HA before.

"You see… I wasn't born on this place. I'm just hunting monsters until I reach this country. And this place holds a lot of monsters according to the news and rumors I've heard before. This place will be perfect for me as I am the Demon Hunter hehe."

"Sorry mate… I'm gonna end this little chat we have. I have some errands to do. And remember, be careful to those around ya, for ya would not know their true motives… When your friends are close, your enemies are closer. Hope we will fight together as a team. The Demon Hunter and the Demon Cyborg, a fantastic team I must say. I like your style…." Lebmont ended their little conversation.

Genos was trying to decode what he was trying to say. " ' _Be careful to those around ya, for ya would not know their true motives… When yer friends are close, yer enemies are closer' What's that suppose to mean? Is this a part of my instincts that something is wrong with this organization? Or something more? I must keep my guard up, even to him. They're suspicious…"_

"He looks powerful. His weapons are greater than mine. Must be careful to him" Genos said to himself. There are other heroes as well and most of them look powerful, maybe as great as high A-Class or even low S-Class. HO will be overwhelmed if they try to fight HA. HO has a lot of members, it's numerous but not as much as HA. Even the strongest of heroes here will have a very hard time to bring down high S-Class heroes like Tatsumaki, Bang, Metal Knight and King (lmao). But still, even the combined power of HA and HO will not enough to bring down sensei.

Genos walked away from the HO building as he will go to 's Lab to have some talk with him.

"Ahoy! Mr. Bofoi! What brings you here?" Mr. Matagori asks his friend.

"How's the Heroes Operatives?" Bofoi asked.

"We gather a lot of powerful heroes. There are even other heroes coming from the HA. Why did you ask me to build this in the first place?"

"I need more battle data for my arsenal. And the HA was slowly losing their trust to me. This is more of a backup plan. I would not let my plans I've built to go to waste. Especially, one of my assets will surely cause destruction, not only to this world but also to my plans."

"Oh, you mean the one who escaped from the 6th laboratory? Don't worry as our heroes will aid us to bring down that nuisance."

"I need to prepare my army… Things will go earlier than we thought… After you collect those battle data, quickly send it to me. The earlier, the better."

On the outskirts of the A-City, the same being that escaped the laboratory was standing on a tall rock, staring at the vast landscape of the city. His singular eye was analyzing the fortress standing in the middle of the desolate city, reading the enormous amount of power that residing it. He clenched his right hand, which is covered by a gold armlet, into a fist. He has a grin flustered on his face, showing the sharp teeth he has. His spiky, pale pink hair and red cape were dancing madly as it was blown by the wind.

"I am reborn." The being said quietly, with a large grin on his face. He then quickly disappeared from the view, leaving no trace.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Confrontation

It is 7:00 in the morning. The A-Class Rank 31 Forte is fully prepared for this moment. He is now going to the room of his fellow A-Class Hero Caped Baldy to announce a rematch. He already planned his moves against the baldy. He's still unsure of Saitama's power but he thought underestimating him could bring bad results.

"Be ready Saitama, I am going to kick your ass for embarrassing me on our initial fight. I will end you!"He's just near to Saitama' room so confronting him is no bother to him. As he approaches the door of Saitama's room, he felt a dreadful presence. It made his bones shaking wildly.

"Get out of the way A-Class!"It was the famous S-Class Rank 2 Tatsumaki. Anyone who dares to stand in her way was punished by her overwhelming psychic powers. He sure doesn't want to be crushed like a bug.

"Sorry for the inconvenience Miss Tatsumaki. Please forgive me!" He's so scared. He knows damn well how insanely powerful Tatsumaki is. Knowing she is the "Association's Trump Card", messing with her would bring tons of problems.

"Get out of my sight! Leave now before I crush your flesh and bones..." This statement made Forte run so fast like a scaredy cat towards his room to avoid certain death. He immediately opened his room's door and quickly entered it. He didn't completely shut the door closed to observe the terrifying woman (or kid regarding her size).

"Now, that it was settled."Tatsumaki quickly said before she knocks at the door of the baldy's room. This action made Forte, which is eavesdropping to the situation, confused why the esper was knocking on the door of Saitama's room. "Is she a friend of that baldy? It's impossible! Why most of the powerful and famous heroes know this guy? First King, then the Fubuki Group, now even Tatsumaki? This is suspicious..."

This day was 17 days after the time baldy visited her. She was discharged from the hospital 3 days after the visit. She was training for 2 weeks to fulfill that baldy's request and to boost her powers to pwned that baldy.

"Saitama! Show yourself!" Tatsumaki shouted to the door,hoping that Saitama will respond. After 5 seconds, Saitama slowly opened the door,being confronted by the esper.

"Oh, Tatsumaki! You're fully recovered..." Saitama greeted her. Tatsumaki was surprised that he didn't mispronounce her name. If he did,it will turn out badly.

"You know damn well why I am here," Tatsumaki stated.

"Go inside." Saitama ordered her as she entered the room. She closed the door by using her powers, to avoid anyone from seeing them.

"This place's a wreck! I would not withstand living in this wasteland." Tatsumaki mocked the place It was too small for her perspective (well she's small too) and has a lot of thrashes and garbage.

"Sorry, I haven't cleaned up yet. Well, it's kind of comfortable here, even though it's small." Saitama is now going to his room to change clothes.

"Hurry up baldy! I don't have much time!" Tatsumaki shouted to the hero. Saitama was still sleepy, but thanks to Tatsumaki's rant, it faded away.

"I'm going to change my clothes...Wait patiently huh! It would be quick."Saitama reassured the esper. Tatsumaki is the kind of person that hates to wait for something, even if it is just a short amount of time. Her ice-thin patience cannot take waiting for a long time.

After one minute, Saitama was finished wearing his costume. Tatsumaki was shocked by the bald's costume. It was so simple and undoubtedly plain that it looks ridiculous. But then, a flashback happened to her thoughts. The clothes strike a lot of resemblance to Blast's outfit. The white cape, yellow jumpsuit, red gloves, etc are some similarities. But Blast's outfit was more detailed than Saitama's. And much cooler too.

"That takes eternity..." Tatsumaki whined. She is very irritated now. She was eager to stomp the head of that bald hero.

"Its kinda quick you know. I must not let a lady wait for a man." This statement made the esper blush. She is embarrassed by that words Saitama uttered.

"It's not that I asked you for dat-I mean let's go baldy let's fight!" Tatsumaki's mind is messed up right now. This goofball sure knows damn well how to embarrass her. Saitama was now dumbfounded by the actions of the esper. She sure is a crazy midget.

"Ok let's go." The two proceed to leave the room.

As they leave the room, Forte, which is still eavesdropping, saw the pair go outside of the room. "Are they really dating each other? How Tatsumaki of all people will fall in love to that bald bastard? I must investigate..." He slowly crept out of his room as the pair walks away. No people, besides the two, are in the hallway and taking a quick step out of his room would be obvious. He makes sure that the duo would reach the elevator then he will do his actions.

As he planned, the bald and the esper stepped into the elevator. Forte sprinted towards the other elevator to follow-up.

"So..." Saitama spoke out.

"So..." Tatsumaki repeated.

Awkwardness arises as the seconds pass by. They didn't know what to say to each other. The silence is unnerving them both. Saitama now began to speak, thus breaking the silence.

"So when you were discharged from the hospital?" The bald asked out.

"3 days after your visit to be precise," Tatsumaki answered.

"Oh okay..."

"Did you train just what I suggested?" A follow-up question asked by Saitama.

"Well, to be honest, yes. I did train. But don't think it's because of your request. I did it for my benefits, not that I want to obey you or something" The esper stated. It was genuinely true. She didn't want to train like the goofball said but it will help her to destroy him.

"Oh, I did say it for your benefits. Why would I suggest that if it's for my benefit?" Saitama declared. Tatsumaki was caught off-guard by the statement of the hero.

" _Damn, this guy is sure to have a lot of surprises on his sleeves. It didn't cease to shock me. How are you able to do that? Especially to me...You're really a weird guy..._ "

The elevator's door opened up as the two heroes walk outside. Forte is now walking outside, carefully stalking the two.

"Well you're asking me questions a while ago, now would be my turn to ask." Tatsumaki declared. Saitama simply listened to her.

"Did you prepare yourself for our rematch?" The esper asked. This question hit Forte really hard. " _Did they fight before? How?! And who wins in that match?_ " Forte wandered out who is the victor in the fight. He thought it will be Tatsumaki is the obvious winner. " _But why would she bother to ask the egghead for another match, except if she loses to him...I must investigate more..._ " The duo has left the building and Forte followed up.

"Oh, yes, of course, why not?" Saitama suddenly put his right hand on his belt to grab a piece of paper.

"This is the list of all of my properties you destroyed. You can replace it or pay the price if you want to." This statement made Tatsumaki pissed off. But she tried to restrain her wrath, which is a difficult task. Forte, which was observing the two, try to restrain his laughter because of the dumb act of the bald guy. " _He's hilarious! Did he think he's going to win against her?_ "

"I mean not that! On the actual fight! Did you train yourself too?" Tatsumaki asked while barely restraining her anger. " _The nerve of this guy… Tsk…_ "

"Oh, I didn't train. There's no need to." Saitama answered back. His training was done. The three years of hard work made him able to achieve his dream of one-punching monsters. Tatsumaki, however, wasn't able to absorb his words correctly.

"So you're saying that I'm weak huh. That you want me to train myself to match your level! That you're far above me. And you're pretty confident that you literally made a list of your wishes because you know you're going to win against me! Cut the crap out already Baldy!Are you thinking you're above me?"Tatsumaki was really mad now. She cannot withstand how that baldy looked down to her.

"Yes, I did."Saitama's words hit her like a truck.

"Remember your place bald moron! You are just an A-Class nobody while I'm an S-Class rank 2! You are just got lucky in our first fight because I am still wounded! You've gotten pretty cocky just because you won! I will flatten you in 5 seconds!" She was steaming mad. She cannot withstand someone looking down on her.

Forte was shocked of what he heard about. Tatsumaki, the association's trump card, lost to Caped Baldy! Although Tatsumaki is ridiculously powerful, even if not in full power, was still defeated by the goofball head. " _This guy's no small fry. I must reconsider issuing my challenge to him._ "

"What's with you and ranks anyway? You always compare your strength to others by using ranks. Ranks have nothing to do on this! Ranks don't reflect your ability and powers you have! It's not the basis of knowing someone's strength! I don't give a fuck to ranks. It has no connection to my abilities and strength! To your abilities and strength as well! It is just a number! A flawed system of that association! And many fools like you believe that you're on top because of ranks! You're just like Fubuki!" Saitama declared. This mini-speech hit Tatsumaki really hard. He was do not reflect the strength and durability of that guy. It was just a number! A flawed system. She remembered the time she first joined the association. She even said it has a lot of flaws like the ranking system. But as the time flows by, she was eventually devoured by the flawed system she hates. He enlightened her. Ranks have nothing to do in this situation. But she was still stubborn, refusing to believe that the guy was above her. A moment of silence for the two.

"Hhmmpp. Okay fine! You're right. Ranks have nothing to do in this situation. But I still refuse to believe you're above me." Tatsumaki answered back to Saitama's speech.

"That's good to hear," Saitama concluded.

One again, the duo was enveloped in an awkward silence. The eerie silence was unnerving the both of them. They didn't know what to say on each other. Then suddenly Tatsumaki began to move her mouth.

"Hey, Saitama. Well because you won the first match, you must decide where we are going to battle. Do you know some place to fight?" The esper brat asked.

"I thought you have already decided where are we going to do the rematch. Lucky I know a place. Let's go to the Barren Canyon. That's where I and Genos have a sparring match." Saitama remembered the first time he fought Genos. Well, it's a disappointment that Genos cannot give him an exciting fight. He thought this esper besides him will able to achieve Genos didn't.

"Okay, let's go! Lead the way." The two then swiftly leave the Heroes Association HQ. Forte was left dumbfounded. Good thing he knows where that is and he quickly runs to find a vehicle to use. He immediately borrowed a motorcycle from a civilian and throw some money as a payment. "Hey, can I borrow this. A monster was attacking and I was in a rush. Here take those bucks as a payment!" The unfortunate civilian was left dumbfounded.

Tatsumaki and Saitama are now quickly heading to the venue of their match. Tatsumaki was obviously flying into the skies while Saitama was nonchalantly running through the ground. Tatsumaki was surprised how that baldy kept up to her speed by just running. And his face shows no indication of struggle or fatigue, it almost look like this kind of activity is seemingly common for him. " _You really surprised me a lot of times,avocado."_

"Hey, Saitama.I was wondering,can you fly? I mean with that ridiculous running speed, it might be possible that you can fly, can you?" Tatsumaki asked. " _This question is so dumb. I mean that if he really can fly ,why he didn't do that? Well, it's kinda silent so maybe this is a good idea_ _to break the silence_ "

"Well, no, I cannot. Humans cannot fly, except for those who was born with that kind of ability, like you." Saitama felt a sudden nostalgia. When Genos and he were going to the hideout of " _House of Revolution_ ", Genos asked the same thing.

" _Well, no human can run that fast either, except for that Lightspeed Flash._ " Tatsumaki thought to herself.

It was getting quiet again. The silence was unnerving them both. Then, an imaginary light bulb appears above his bald head.

"Oi, I have a question. I was wondering what is that "Bla-" you're saying about on our first fight." This question brings a lot of bad memories to the esper girl. The experiments, the pain, and loneliness on that cell, those mad scientists, the monster that broke loose on the laboratory, and Blast, the one who save her life. All of these memories of her past is now pouring into her mind, overflowing her with the same emotions she felt before. Hatred, fear, sadness and rage. Saitama hit a nerve, a delicate one.

"WHY WOULD YOU EVEN CARE? ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! JUST STAY AWAY FROM IT!" Tatsumaki roared, slightly shocking the running guy on a cape. Then, both of them suddenly stopped from their tracks.

"Why you don't want to tell about it? Is it some kind of a problem? Come on. I'm really curious and I want to know why you become a hero. I want to understand you." Saitama calmly stated. Again, those words hit another nerve.

"UNDERSTAND? ME? ARE YOU KIDDING?! TELL ME HOW COULD YOU UNDERSTAND ALL OF THOSE PAINFUL MOMENTS OF MY LIFE? HUH? HOWWW! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ALL OF THOSE SUFFERING I ENDURED FOR MANY YEARS! AND NOW YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT!?" Tatsumaki resisted the urge to let her tears to fall. She does not want to look weak to our hero Saitama. That's the last thing she wants to happen.

"Oh, so you do have a dark park. Well, I know that I will never understand those feelings you experienced during that times. But I want to say this to you. Don't bottle it up inside you. Release it! Stacking it up on your head will never help you to move on." Saitama suggested. " _Nice idea Saitama, nice idea..."_

Those spoken words enlightened the esper. He is damn right. But she's still thinking twice if she will let the bald hero acquire knowledge of her past. He's not even a friend of hers! But his spoken words of wisdom was ringing on her ear, tempting her to release the details of her broken past.

"I became a hero because of Blast." She finally spilled out of the words Saitama want to hear. She decided to put some inkling amount of trust on this guy, which she has not ever done before in her life. She hopes this decision of hers will turn out to be okay. On the other hand, Saitama is still confused.

"Oh. That name seems familiar... I don't know why bu-" He was interrupted by Tatsumaki.

"I was not finished yet! Do you want to know it or not?" Tatsumaki yelled to the face of the poor guy. She really hates to be interrupted.

"Sorry." Saitama sweatdropped.

"Well anyway. When I was a kid, a group of scientists gets me from my parents. They have done many experiments on me for three years. One day, they learn I cannot use my powers so they locked me up in a cell. Then a monster created by those jerks broke loose and they left me to die. After that. Blast saves me; he killed the monster then inspired me to be a hero. Then I leave that place, never returned again." Tatsumaki said. " _Well, at least she's a quick talker, unlike Genos._ "Saitama thought to himself, acknowledged the quick story of the older esper.

"Wow. I felt sorry for your past. Well, at least it was not bottled up anymore. I hope you're going to feel better now and move on from the past."

Tatsumaki was surprised, again. She felt like a large boulder on her back suddenly disappeared. It feels like a large burden on her brain and heart fade away from existence. She never felt so relieved like this. She felt a lot better now. That baldy never ceases to amaze her.

"Don't bother to tell that to anyone! Or I will smack your bald head. Keep that as a secret." She was afraid that if anyone will learn about it, they will know her weakness.

"Whatever."

The duo then resumes to their travel.

"Now that I spilled out why I became a hero, now's your turn." Tatsumaki wondered. Well, this lightbulb was harboring a lot of mysteries and surprises, so asking him maybe enlightened her.

"Oh. I am a hero for a hobby." This statement made the midget dumbfounded.

" _What kind ridiculous backstory is that?Wait a minute...That's also like Blast said. He's a hero for a hobby just like this bald bastard._ "Tatsumaki thought to herself.

"Yeah right. Hero for fun as you say. Then how you get yourself so strong to resist some ( _more likely almost all_ ) of my attacks." She asked. Well, she's so stubborn to believe she's above him but also she wondered bout the source or origin of this guy's ridiculous strength and willpower. Her fellow S-Class Hero MuscleHeads like Gay Prisoner, Tanktop Dude, and Dark Baldy, which are known to their superhuman strength, cannot resist her immense psychic powers yet this ordinary-looking goofball was resisting, or to be precise, invulnerable to her attacks. Maybe asking him will be a good idea to uncover the mystery of his strength.

"I will say it but it's not my fault if you don't believe me. I am not joking around."Saitama doesn't want to say it because he knew damn well she will not believe in order to avoid some arguments,he makes sure that she will understand what he is going to say is true.

"Yeah just spill it!" Tatsumaki answered back.

"I train my body for 3 years." He stated. This statement is surely not enough for the girl.

"What kind of training is that?" She thought that many people were wasting half of their lifetime to get remotely strong but this guy accomplished gaining massive strength by three years?! The training must be so damn special that he is the only one has the knowledge about it that boosts strength to enormous levels that it resists her psychic powers.

"100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats then a 10 kilometer run for three years. Of course, there is the three meals a day but only a banana for breakfast. And, I didn't use AC/Heater during Summers or Winters to strengthen my mind. Well, that's all. I know you would not believe this but it is the truth,no fucks were given." As she heard the "Training Regimen" of Saitama, she knows that this is nonsense. She resisted the urge to slap her palm on her face. If that's true then there's something happened to him why he was training that made him strong. The training is obviously stupid and not intense enough to give an enormous physical strength.

"Did something happened to you while you're 'training'? Like an accident or some event?" She asked. Maybe there is an event that gave him immense durability. That training is ridiculous, as many people dedicated the half of their life to be remotely strong while he trained for three years to be indestructible. She knows damn well there is some secret about the strength of the bald hero.

"Oh, it's an embarrassing event. I would like to say it but its personal thing. So nevermind that." Saitama didn't want to tell the midget that his head loses all of its hair. It will ignite the chains of insults, which is annoying.

"HOW DARE YOU NOT TELLING ME! I TELL YOU WHY I BECAME A HERO AND ITS A PERSONAL THING AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA SAY THAT SHIT BECAUSE ITS PERSONAL? SPILL IT!" Tatsumaki yelled while Saitama sweatdropped. She was right. She tells her personal thing so it's unfair not to tell his. He gulped as he prepares himself to speak.

"Okay fine. I became bald when I was training." This statement made the esper broke her very thin patience. " _Became bald?! That's it?! No accidents or mysterious event?!_ ".

"WHAT?! THATS IT?! YOU JUST WENT BALD?!" Tatsumaki angrily asked the caped man.

"Yeah and I get significantly stronger after that," Saitama added.

"No unusual event except that?" The esper asked again.

"Yeah. Why are you so curious anyway? I just trained for 3 years and went bald that's all."

Tatsumaki does not want to talk to this guy anymore. There's no point of asking any more questions if that man does not want to reveal anything. " _But what would he look like if he had a hair? Screw that! Why would I care anyway?"_ They continue their travel to the site of their match. After 5 minutes of running and flying, they reached the area.

"Okay, we're here Tats." Saitama happily said while the esper didn't answer back, analyzing the whole view. Tatsumaki thought this will be a good place to train or to spar. She was currently planning all of her moves against the caped baldy. The wideness of the area, along with its large rock formations will be useful for her. She also noticed the damage of the previous fight that happened the large canyon seemingly formed by artificial means. " _Did the cyborg created that or the baldy?_ "

"Hey, Tats! Are we going to do this or not? It seems like you enjoy the view..." Saitama was fired up, knowing that his ruined apartment will be paid and he might get a challenging match.

"What did you call me? Did you call me ' _Tats_ '?" She was surprised. Again. No person ever gave her a nickname before. And the first one to do it was him.

"Yeah. You're name was confusing me a lot. And I don't want to mispronounce your name, for you will throw continuous strings of insults to me. It was really annoying." Saitama explained to the esper.

"Hmmph! Whatever... Let's begin anyway..."

As the two heroes went to their respective positions to prepare for their battle, the A-Class Forte arrives on the scenery. He noticed they were preparing themselves for the match. " _Let's see what you can do 'Caped Baldy'._ "

"Is this spot good enough?!" Saitama shouted, waiting for the midget to respond.

"No! It's too far! Come closer!" Tatsumaki shouted back. Slightly annoyed, Saitama obeyed the esper's command. He stepped twenty times from his previous location.

"Here! Is this spot good enough?!" Saitama exclaimed to Tatsumaki.

"No! It's too near from my perspective! Just step backward!" Saitama's patience began to crack. Even still annoyed, he followed again the command of the green-haired girl. " _What the fuck?!_ "He stepped 10 times backward then asked the esper again.

"What about here? Is this okay to you?!" Saitama roared. The petite woman is still unsatisfied yet.

"No! It's a little bit farther! Move slightly forward!" Saitama was pissed off right now. The esper was obviously trying to provoke the bald man. He cannot take it anymore.

"What's wrong with you, midget! Are you trying to piss me off?!" Saitama angrily shouted. This statement hits a nerve.

"Just shut up baldy! If you want to have a good battle, then follow me so that we can start! Just step a little bit so we can begin our fight!" Saitama ignored his anger and followed her, much to his annoyance. He stepped 5 times forward.

"My goodness! Is this spot good enough for you brat?!" Saitama loudly exclaimed. " _Why the hell she needs a specific spot?! For goodness sake, we will move around the area while we fight! It's not like I will stay put on the same spot..."_

Tatsumaki is steaming mad now. He was called a " _midget_ " and " _brat_ ". To get a payback, she shouted.

"Damn it, baldy! No! It's not good!" Tatsumaki was smiling, knowing that the caped man will be pissed off. And yes, Saitama was smoking mad now.

"Arrgggg! You're dead! You little runt!" He stepped 2 times backward. Tatsumaki noticed it and it was fit to her battle calculations.

"Yeah! That's good!" Tatsumaki shouted back, slightly confusing Saitama. " _She wants to die?_ "

"What do you mean?"

"That spot is good! We can begin now!" This statement gave Saitama a relief. No more annoying commands from the esper.

"That's great! Let's begin now!" As Saitama prepared himself for the match, Tatsumaki has another thing to do.

"Before we start baldy, I want to verify something for you!" Saitama was slightly annoyed. He had high hopes for the girl, yet the brat looks like she's trying her best to delay their match.

"First of all, I want to say that this is a sparring match. No killing allowed even if I want to. The winner will be declared if another fighter was unable to battle. If you win, I will pay my damages to you. If I win, you will resign to the HA and you will do whatever the hell I want." Tatsumaki explained. She saw the baldy didn't even flinch a little bit to what she just said. She shrugged it off.

"Let's get started BALDY!"

Tatsumaki formed a long blade on her right hand. This blade was made of pure psychic energy. She learned this from her special training. Then, she flew forwards to the guy with supersonic speed, aiming at his bald head. As the esper approaches the baldy, Saitama quickly leaned his back perpendicular to his knees to fully evade the strike, which surprises the girl. " _How can he do that?!_ ".

Her speed began to decline as she faces the man, which is standing idly on his spot. She created another psychic blade on her left hand then she flies quickly above the man. When she reaches 150 meters above, she began to spin her psychic blades on her both arms as she dived towards Saitama. "Tornado Drill!" She shouted. The blade's spin speed was rapidly increasing, creating a tornado band that surrounds the girl. Her blade's size was increasing as well. She quickly rushed towards the guy. Saitama was smiling a little bit, amused at the flashy attacks of the esper. As she reached point blank to Saitama, he quickly side-stepped then a follow-up jump, as the esper crashes into the ground. After the smoke cleared out, Tatsumaki began to float as she forms two green orbs of energy, which she also learned from her training. She fires the orbs to Saitama then exclaimed. "Energy Spheres!"

These two spheres were following Saitama, as he ran throughout the canyon. Tatsumaki began to form another two orbs on her hands. As the orbs reached a decent size, she aimed it on the baldy. She fires a green colored beam towards Saitama. Saitama noticed the approaching beam. To avoid his clothes from being vaporized, he jumped high, nearly avoiding the intense beam. The orbs that following him was obliterated upon impact to the beam, causing a loud explosion that created a lot of smoke.

She used this opportunity to create numerous amount of green orbs that surrounded the smoke-covered baldy. As the cloud of dust began to clear, Tatsumaki fired all of her energy spheres to the bald hero. Saitama, which is free-falling, curled his body into a ball. Before the green orbs arrived and hit him, he jumped out of the orbs' pinpoint, completely evading it.

The orbs collide with each other, as they missed the target. These collisions cause countless explosions of such massive degree. The orbs maybe missed him, as she expected. But she is still not done because all of this are on her assault tactics. She raised her hands high, levitating numerous pillars of dirt and rock. These pillars then combined into a singular pillar. After the smoke clears out, she saw the baldy free-falling again. She used this precious opportunity to unleashed yet another assault. The gigantic pillar began to increase its height, ascending towards the caped hero. Saitama noticed this. He thought she looks like an earth-bender on how she manipulates the mass of rock and soil. Before the pillar connects to Saitama, Tatsumaki used her powers to create a gigantic hand out of the structure by using her improved and more focused psychokinesis. This is again, a product of her two-week training. The gigantic arm grabbed Saitama, enveloping him on a mold of soil and dust.

Tatsumaki then created countless copies of herself that surrounded the gigantic pillar. This clones have a fraction of her power and can unleash any type of energy projectiles. This is one of the other techniques she developed on a short amount of time of training. She and her clones stick out their hands pointing to the direction of the pillar. After 3 seconds, they fire energy beams aimed at the trapped hero. Because Saitama didn't know what's happening outside, he only waits until something happens to him. The dirt and dust inside this giant hand were bothering him, but besides that, he was quite happy that this esper midget might possible to gave him a proper challenge.

The energy beams struck hard on the gigantic hand, causing a strong explosion that releases powerful shockwaves that struck the clones, removing them from existence. Tatsumaki was struck by the shockwave too. Good thing she developed yet another technique. This technique was more defensive, as she will form a sphere barrier unconsciously if she felt threaten or her body sensed danger signals.

The smoke from the explosion disappeared, revealing an unscathed and unharmed bald guy that was standing on the top of the handless pillar. This shocked Tatsumaki hard. REALLY hard. She was reeling from the complete shock of the sight of the unharmed bald eyesore that didn't flinch on her continuous assaults. She felt her stamina was reduced by a large fraction and she cannot even leave a scratch of the baldy. But she is not done yet. She cracked a smile or grin to be precise.

As Forte was observing all of this action, he felt his eyeballs will going to pop-out from his eye sockets. The sheer shock and disbelief he's experiencing now were unmatched. He cannot believe that the simple-looking bald man on a cape has the ability to avoid all of the attacks of the strongest esper on the whole world. And he was capable of taking a concentrated psychic blast without having even a scratch. " _What the heck are you 'Caped Baldy'?_ "

She split the pillar into four where Saitama was standing. Saitama was falling down, quite amused at the efforts of the midget. Before Saitama reaches the ground, four smaller pillars collided to Saitama, trapping him again on the dirt and dust structure. Tatsumaki then concentrated her powers to crush the pillar into a ball. The pillar was quickly turning into a sphere of soil and rock. As the ball approaches the size of a human, Tatsumaki felt difficulty on concentrating her powers to fully crush the sphere. She put a lot more effort to crush the ball until she saw a bald head sticking outside of the ball.

"Oh. I am a ball!" Saitama stated, amused to his current situation. He quickly broke out of the ball as soon as he landed on the ground.

She failed to crush him. Change of tactics now. She created a clone. This copy has a lot more power than those before, because of the fact that this copy was alone. So the power was not distributed to the other clones. "Astral Illusion!" Tatsumaki shouted before she and her copy created psychic blades out of nowhere. The two then ascends towards the bald hero at supersonic speeds. " _So she is faster than Genos and that ninja Tonic...but slower than Burrito and Garou_ " The two arrived at a point blank range, ready to decapitate the caped hero. Saitama was seemingly disappeared from existence as the blades attempt to penetrate his skin. Tatsumaki was surprised yet again. She was successful at hitting the afterimage. But that didn't stop her from striking the baldy. Her face quickly looked at her back, searching for a certain bald head. She didn't see any egghead behind. She and her clone flew 200 meters above the surface, focusing her eyes on the ground.

She saw the goofball running like an idiot. She sent her clone to assault the guy. The copy descents, aiming her psychic blades on the man running. Saitama noticed this and stopped from running. Before the clone pointed her blades to the bald hero, Saitama suddenly appeared on her front, grabbing her two tiny arms. The real Tatsumaki smirked. She flicked her fingers as she faced away of Saitama. Few milliseconds passed after she flicked her small fingers, a deafening blast boomed the area.

"Take my Illusion Bomb you bald bastard!" She descends from the sky towards the site of the blast. She reached the ground and she cautiously walked towards the smoke and dust. That was one of her most powerful moves. She knows damn well that would leave a scratch and bruises to him if it failed to obliterate the guy. The smoke began to lose its thickness, revealing a giant crater. But there is no sign of the bald hero. She felt someone tapped her tiny shoulders.

"You're It!" Saitama declared with a smile on his face. Tatsumaki replied with a grin on her face "No! I don't think so." She created another psychic blade from her right hand and quickly stabbed him. It connects him, but something is not right here. The image of the baldy began to disappear from existence. It was another afterimage! She looked at her back, showing the bald hero waving his hands like a dumbass.

She dashed backward, getting herself away from the guy. She's preparing herself for the full-power assault as she raised her hands, levitating piles of rocks and engulfed the baldy, turning into a dome of rock and soil. She then uses her powers to float numerous pillars of earth and carved it into sharp and pointed structures. She aimed this sharp pillars at the small dome covering Saitama. Then she created tons of green energy spheres that surrounded the dome. At last, she created countless copies of himself around the trapped hero.

Saitama has no idea what going to happen. But he felt slightly excited. The flashy attacks were impressive for him, as it was the result of her training. And it shows how powerful she is, capable of multi-tasking and those attacks seems to need a lot of concentration and focus. But the thing is, he felt happiness towards the girl, and he felt no swelling of joy inside him. He knows that the girl's power, as she was showing now, is not enough to bring that much excitement. But she hasn't unleashed her full power yet. Maybe her full-power will bring a good challenge.

Tatsumaki fired her pillars to the dome, struck it hard. Then her orbs flew simultaneously towards the dome. Her clones made psychic blades to their hands and began to fly towards the dome, ready to stab the bald guy inside. She developed her clones to be not affected by the orbs, so there's no need yo worry on losing the copies. The pillars penetrated to the small dome. The clones began to stab the structure. The orbs were continuously bombarding the area. Then, Tatsumaki created a giant whirlwind or a tornado in the area, dealing heavy damage on the small dome. She then flicked her fingers, as the small explosions of the orbs were accompanied by self-destructing clones. The explosions were being concentrated on the area, as the tornado trapped these explosions inside, to maximize the full damage output on the baldy. Continuous explosions, ranging from small ones to gigantic ones, bombarded the area where Saitama was trapped. Tons of rocks hurling inside the tornado. These rocks were hurling at ridiculous speeds. Tatsumaki was panting hard. Her assault drained much energy from her. She has some energy left, in case the baldy survived that, which is impossible from her perspective.

Forte's expression was astounding. Wide eyes, large open mouth ,with some saliva dripping out of his mouth. " _There's no way that bald man will survive that._ " He was impressed by the wide scale of damage Ms. Tatsumaki can do. That shows how the esper gets her high position on the S-Class Ranks. She's a different league on the other S-Class heroes. Miss Tatsumaki, the most powerful esper. Mr. King, the strongest man alive (hehe). Metal Knight, the hero that harbors the most advance of technologies in the whole world. And the legendary Blast, strongest hero shrouded in mystery. The one that will save humanity on God-Level Threats. These heroes were the other S-Class heroes. And fighting one of them was a death wish. He felt pity and empathy on the poor bald hero.

The smoke slowly disappearing, revealing a devastated area full of broken rocks and craters. But no sign of the caped hero. Tatsumaki was slightly confused. " _Did I killed him or he survived?_ " She felt the someone tapping her shoulders again.

"Hey behind you!" Saitama said while wearing his stupid smile. He doesn't have any scratch, bruises or any damage to his clothes." _How the hell he survived?!_ " Both Forte and Tatsumaki thought.

"You're a dead bastard!" She quickly fired an energy beam towards Saitama. She was grinning hard. This time, it will be over. Then she saw him tapping her small shoulders again. "You're cute Tats!" Saitama casually said with closed eyes and waving hands. The words he used provoked her was ringing in her ears. Hearing his statement made her flustered. She's damn mad and embarrassed at the same time. Her emotions take control of her actions.

"Damn you, baldy!" A psychic blade quickly appeared on her right hand and furiously slashed the baldy. Saitama jumped backward to completely avoid the assault. He lands to a spot farther away from the mad midget. He used only one leg to land and stepped on a slippery rock, which nearly made him fall flat on the ground. Good thing he has quick reflexes, regaining his composure.

"Hey! Is that your proper way to thank someone for their flattery?!" Saitama exclaimed.

"For goodness sake! Pay attention to our match! Do you think this is a joke?! Cut the crap baldy! I was taking this match seriously yet the only thing you've done was dodging, running and saying nonsense shit like that! Try to fight back egghead! Fight me SERIOUSLY!" Tatsumaki was never humiliated like this in her life. No one dares to provoke her and take her as a joke. Yet this goofball head treating her like she was nothing but a weakling. He's the one who proposed this match, so why not try to fight back?!

Saitama was quietly listening to her blabberings and rants. Well, she was right that he didn't fight back. And he knows it was humiliating too. So he decides to follow her wish.

Tatsumaki, which is slowly becoming calmer, noticed the sudden change of mood of the baldy. He looks more serious than before.

"Okay let's end th-" Her words were cut by the seemingly instantaneous appearance of the caped hero on her front. Instinct kicks in as she tried to stab the bald guy with her psychic blades. Split seconds before her attack connects to him, he quickly disappeared from the view of perspective. Her instincts shouted to her to look on her back. He saw the guy ascending to her very fast. She tried to stab him, but instead he caught her hands. His grip was seriously hard as she cannot remove his hand even at her full effort. She glanced towards the baldy. She saw the sharp face of the caped hero and his approaching red fist.

The same aura she felt before on the hospital was enveloping her view of sight. But this is different, as the intensity of the dread was overwhelming. All of her body senses was overloaded with fear. Her body seems to forget how to function as the red fist of doom approaches her face. She never felt any kind of fear jus like what she's experiencing now. At a young age, she knows damn well the emotion fear. The fear of never survived another day of experiments makes her get stronger. Yet this fear was different from before. The fear was overwhelming, that it totally shuts down all of her body processes. The brain stopped functioning as her lungs forgotten how to breathe. It's like facing your own demise and you can do nothing but to face it and accept you inevitable destruction. But before the fist hits her face, it changed paths. The fist stopped at the side of her head, above the shoulder. After one second, a deafeningly loud boom echoed throughout the area. Her face was struck by a huge wave of the wind that blows all of her hair backward. Even Forte was overwhelmed by the great intensity of the boom.

As Saitama lowered his face, the sharp and menacing appearance was replaced by the simple bald head she's accustomed to. As he raised his face, he lightly tapped her forehead by the same hand he used on the punch. "Oi! You calmed down. Come on let's eat! I'm starving!" Saitama casually said as he faced away from the esper, walking like an idiot.

Tatsumaki was scared of her life. The inconceivable dread and the devouring terror completely messed up the functions of her body. After one second, her body becomes active again. She falls to her knees as she gasped for air. The feeling of dread and terror seems to slowly disappear.

She was never humiliated by that. It was not even a fight, not even close. She loses because she was scared! Not only that. He lets her use her attack first to make it look like a fight. The kind of humiliation she faced now was nonetheless, her worst humiliation. She thinks that she was above the baldy. And he thinks that she was nothing but a joke. He could have ended it from the start but he let her use all of the techniques she learned from her training. It was absurd! Her pride was shattered right now. The pride that she built and fortified for more than two decades of her life, the ego that builds her strength and hides her weakness, all of it turned into a pile of rubble and dust. And it was ruined by a simple nondescript bald hero that throw his fist that never connects. The sheer terror she felt during that moment she thought she's gonna die left a large scar on the depths of her memory.

As she looked on the back, her face formed a shocked expression. The wind from the momentum of his punch tore a large chunk of the rock formations and the forests behind her. Even the clouds that float high above the sky was carved on the sheer force of the momentum of the punch. The artificial canyon she saw before was surely created by the bald hero, not the cyborg. She chose not to imagine what will happen to her if that punch connected to her.

Saitama noticed the absence of esper. He looked back and asked her. "Hey, Tats! Are you not hungry?" He approaches her and offered her a hand. Tatsumaki, which is still reeling from the shock. She's still cannot comprehend how the agonizing dread and terror disabled her battle instincts. She saw the same red-gloved hands that nearly ended her life as he reaches for her. She looked above and saw the same bald head she's accustomed to. The sharpness of his face was long gone and the serious face turned into the casual smiling head. She grabbed his hands unconsciously. The bald then helped her to rise and aid her walking locomotion. Her knees felt like a jelly, therefore, she has a hard time to walk. She noticed the happy face of the baldy while aiding her on walking. She blushed and quickly removed his hands from her. "I'm okay! Don't help me! I can do this!"

"Okay... Well then, let's eat! I'm starving!" He chirped with happiness as the both left the area. Tatsumaki didn't bother to listen to the baldy's statement. She was still reeling from the shock that shutdowns her full body. Her ego and pride were smashed to bits by the events happened earlier. Not only that, at first she believes that she will stomp the caped hero hard that he will quit to becoming a hero. Her arrogance got her, believing that she was the superior and ignoring the fact that she cannot even lift him or shake the very soul of the guy by her telekinesis. She disregarded those feats of the baldy on their initial fight and now she was going home defeated. The mighty HA's trump card and S-Class rank 2 lost to an A-Class nobody. And she didn't lose because of injuries, but she lost because of fear! And that fear makes her unable to fight. She didn't know what to do. What if there's a spectator to their match and see her weakness? She cannot bear the shame that she will face if someone except for the baldy see her as a weak person. She spent most of her life making herself strong and stronger to be able to protect Fubuki. And if someone sees her weakness, all of those hard work to get herself stronger will go to waste and she will lose her grip to her sister, making her vulnerable to any huge threats. Her life turned again to the time she was in that laboratory. She cannot do anything.

Forte was in awe, after watching the fight. His dumb face expression was a sight to behold. " _Woah! That baldy is sure tough, surviving Miss Tatsumaki's assaults and strikes. And he won by punching on the wind. He carved a new canyon by the force of his punch . I think I must cancel my challenge. I don't want to die…_ " He was shaking in fear, imagining himself facing the bald guy smashing his whole body into bits. He slowly approached the motorcycle he borrowed to leave the area.

After two hours of silent travel, the two heroes arrived at the bald's favorite udon restaurant. He was really hungry as his stomach was making embarrassing sounds. He noticed that the midget was surprisingly silent at the whole course of their travel. She neither even speaks even a word, nor make any sound. She's so silent that it was unnerving him. Sure her squeaky voice was annoying but her silence was out-of-character for her. He felt slightly guilty because of his move against her might bring some emotional trauma.

Tatsumaki didn't know what to do with her life. She cannot bear the shame and humiliation that she lost to the bald guy. She cannot think correctly. She didn't know how to rebuild her ruined ego and pride. She doesn't know how she was going to protect Fubuki if she's weak.

The two entered the restaurant. Only a few people were eating here. They easily get themselves a table for the both of them.

"Hey, Tats! Want some udon?" The bald hero asked. Tatsumaki simply nodded. She never bothered to think about food. Her mind was still trying its best to comprehend what happened earlier. Saitama, on the other hand, called the chef to bring them some udon.

After minutes of waiting, the udon was served. Saitama was happy. His hungry stomach was aching for a food. Tatsumaki simply stared at the bowl of udon on her front. This action of the midget was observed by the caped man.

"You don't like udon?" This question snapped her from her thoughts.

"I don't feel the need to eat food anyway." This statement was proven wrong by her own stomach, which growled loudly that the baldy will hear it.

"Oi! It's not good to let yourself hungry. You might get sick! Don't worry udon taste well!" She was hesitating to obey him but her growling stomach does the opposite. The esper grabs the bowl as she slurped the udon. It actually tastes good. And it replenishes the energy she spent on the battle.

Saitama was shocked at the little brat. She finished a complete bowl of udon in just a few seconds. He thought the ideal meal for the esper is a kid-sized meal.

"See? It's great isn't it?" Saitama asked before he continues to eat. The esper widened her eyes as she's about to answer the query of the baldy.

"It's not that great! I'm just hungry that's all!" Tatsumaki's arrogance arose again. Saitama was surprised at the actions of the midget. " _So she came back to her arrogant self…_ " Tatsumaki, on the other hand, was shocked by her actions too. She reverted back to her normal self without her noticing it. She almost completely forgot the previous events. " _It must be the food_."

"Oi! Chef! Bring two more bowls of udon or I'll blast this place!" Tatsumaki shouted! The chef was nervous at the statement of the esper. He quickly grabbed two bowls then suddenly…

"Hey, Chef! Wait a minute!" Saitama shouted to the chef, which confused him a lot.

"Hey, Tats! Why won't we try the udon challenge? I'm pretty sure you can finish it!" Her stomach was craving for the food. The fight drained all of her energy and she needs to refuel. And besides. She cannot refuse a challenge. Her competitive side kicks in.

"Okay! But I won't lose to you!" Tatsumaki agreed. Saitama puts his serious face, ready for the challenge of the midget.

"Let's see what you've got!" Saitama answered back. The chef brings two buckets of udon to the pair. After the chef completely dropped the buckets on the table, both Saitama and Tatsumaki quickly grabbed the buckets, trying to eat all of the udon like a monster devouring humans. All of the other customers simply watched the duo.

After two minutes, the esper finished the bucket followed by the baldy.

"Hahahaha! I won baldy!" Tatsumaki taunted as she burf at the face of the bald guy, pissing him off.

"Damn it!" Saitama smashed his head on the table. The customers that have watched the whole scene were shocked. The midget just finished a bucket of udon, which is a rare sight to behold.

The chef arrived at the table of the duo. He gave two envelopes that contain the prize money. It was 10,000 yen! Saitama squealed in joy as he grabbed the envelope. Tatsumaki was surprised that the udon challenge has prize money, which she does not really need anyway.

"Why're you too have a prize? I finished the udon first!" Tatsumaki asked.

"Oh. You will get a prize if you finished the udon challenge. And I finished it too, so it's not fair if you only have the prize." Saitama explained. Tatsumaki gives the envelope to the baldy, which was surprised by her actions.

"Why are you giving that to me? You won so you earned it!" Saitama asked.

"Take it! I don't need it anyway." Tatsumaki answered. Saitama was hesitating if he will grab the envelope or not. He grabbed it anyway.

"Thanks, Tats!" Saitama exclaimed in joy. "You know you're not that really bad…" The statement caught the esper off-guard. He's acting like they were friends, which annoyed her a lot.

"We're not friends baldy! Fuck off!" Saitama was confused. " _What's with this sassy brat?_ "

The duo leaved the restaurant. Saitama was so glad. He always try to win the udon challenge yet he always fail to finished it. The 20,000 yen is a large pocket money, and he have already imagined what he was going to buy at the supermarket. His thoughts was cut when he noticed the esper brat was silent again.

"Hey Tats! Are you okay?" Saitama questioned with a worried tone on his voice.

"Just fuck off baldy! I don't need your concern…" Tatsumaki hissed. The baldy was now eager to know what's happening to the mind of that midget.

"What's the problem Tats?" He questioned again. The ice-thin patience of the esper broke once again.

"WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?! IT'S YOU! YOU'RE THE PROBLEM!" Tatsumaki exclaimed, anger was obvious on the tone of her voice.

"Oh… I get it now… You cannot accept your defeat aren't you?"

"HOW COULD I ACCEPT IT HUH?! I LOSE TO A SIMPLE-LOOKING BALDY WITH A CAPE NOT BECAUSE I WAS INJURED BUT BECAUSE I WAS FREAKING SCARED OUT OF MY LIFE! NOT ONLY THAT! YOU TREAT ME LIKE I WAS A WEAKLING! LIKE I WAS NOTHING BUT A LITTLE BUG TO YOU!" Tatsumaki was resisting the urge to cry. She doesn't want to look weak in front of him but the pain of being humiliated was too powerful for her. She was crying. She looks like a helpless child.

YOU DIDN'T PUT EVEN AN INKLING OF EFFORT ON OUR BATTLE! YOU'RE MOCKING ME! THAT REMATCH WAS NOT EVEN A BATTLE! YOU HUMILIATED ME! YOU RUINED MY EGO AND PRIDE! YOU SHOW TO ME HOW WEAK I AM! I AM NOT STRONG! I AM WEAK AND I CANNOT PROTECT MY SISTER ANYMORE!" The fear of losing her beloved sister, her pride, and ego, and the words of Blast was her fuel to gain strength. But now her pride and ego were wrecked by the previous event, she felt her power was leaking out. She thinks her power was not enough to protect Fubuki. And she felt helpless, waiting for someone to help her on her current situation. She cannot fulfill the spoken words of her savior. She is a failure.

Saitama absorbed all of the painful words the esper released from her mouth. He knows damn well what she was feeling right now. The feeling that you are too weak and you are not capable of protecting anyone was painful. He approaches the sobbing esper.

"You're wrong Tats… You are not weak… You're strong on your own…" Saitama reassured.

"If I am strong then why I cannot defeat you? Why I lose to you?" Tatsumaki asked while still crying…

"Losing a battle doesn't show you are weak. Maybe I am stronger but as what I said earlier. You're strong on your own. You're not the S-Class rank 2 for no reason. Losing is a part of anyone's life. There will be a time you will face defeat. But don't let that defeat bring you down. Learn from your mistake and continue to be a better person."

"Why are you trying to help me?! We're not even friends! And you act like you know all about me!" Her arrogance doesn't want to believe on the words of wisdom the baldy was speaking. She doesn't need the pity and empathy of others. Only herself can help her to solve her crisis. Blast's words were still ringing in her head.

"I don't know all about you and yes, we are not friends. But all I can see is that your thinking too much. Overthinking will only worsen your condition." Those words hit her really hard. He's damn right, again!

"Calm down and relax. Accept defeat and learn from it. Use your experience to achieve whatever you want." These words of encouragement ringed on the ears of the esper. She stopped her crying and stared at the bald hero, which is staring back at her. She felt more comfortable now. His words are damn right. " _This bald guy was really a wise man…"_

"You're right, Saitama… But we're still not friends okay!" Tatsumaki agreed.

"Okay let's go!"

* * *

It was 7:00 was currently on his way to his bro Saitama's apartment. He was now walking downstairs when he saw Saitama opening the door of his home. He quickly runs toward the caped hero.

"Hey, Saitama bro!" King shouted which Saitama picked by his ears.

"Oh, King! Hey, Tats this is my home…" Saitama shouted, which confused King. " _Tats? Did he call me Tats? Who's that?"_

King saw furniture and appliances covered in green glow floating towards the apartment of the baldy one by one. He saw Tatsumaki, which is glowing green, placing the objects on Saitama's room. She has a crossed brows with a pout on her face.

"Place the T.V here. Then the table on that spot. Put the fridge near the sink…" King was shocked. " _What's happening here? Did they go shopping?_ "

"Hmmph! It's done, baldy! I'm going now!" Tatsumaki exclaimed on the bald guy, which was wearing a smile that reaches his ears. This never fails to piss her off. As she floats towards the door, she saw King, with his legendary poker face.

"Get out of the way dumbass!" Tatsumaki hissed. King, which had his King Engine roaring out of fear, politely followed the esper's command. Tatsumaki quickly flew towards the stairs, since the S-Class apartment was only above the A-Class. King entered the home of the Caped Baldy.

"What happened Saitama-bro? Why are you with that Tsun-Tsun? Are you dating her? And why she was bringing appliances and other stuff here?" This continuous questions annoyed the baldy.

"King! One by one only!" Saitama exclaimed.

"Okay. Okay. What happened Saitama-bro?" King questioned.

"I and the midget has some business to do…" Saitama answered.

"Why are you with that Tsun-Tsun? Are you dating her?" This question popped a vein on the bald head of Saitama.

"No! Hell no! We just had our rematch, lunch and shopping that's all." Saitama angrily answered. King had his smile slowly turning into a smirk.

"Really? Is is not a date? I mean is that eating lunch together and go shopping looks like a date. And considering you two loves to battle, I guess battling is a way of bonding. Hehe…" King teased, which make Saitama pissed off.

"It's not a freaking date! And if it is, which is don't, I would not invite that midget to a date!" King was having fun teasing the poor bald guy.

"You don't like tsundere? Never mind that. Why she brings some appliances and furniture to your house?" King wondered why the esper will bring such objects.

"Oh, I win on our rematch and as a prize, she will replace all of my stuff she destroyed during that squabble of Garou," Saitama answered, which surprised King. " _Saitama's sure very strong. He defeated the tsundere girl._ "

"Oh, congratulations!" King greeted.

"Not only that, I won 10,000 yen on that udon challenge. And it was doubled when Tats gave her prize money to me. I'm sure very lucky today!" Saitama proudly exclaimed. " _Did that girl just gulped down a whole bucket of udon? I cannot even reach half of it…_ " King thought, surprised at the appetite of the midget.

"Anyway… Saitama, I'm here to challenge you to a battle!" This sudden declaration surprised Saitama.

"No way! You always go all out even on newbies like me!" Saitama responded. He knows King loves to humiliate him on video games.

"No! Not on video games! A real battle like what you and the chick do!"


	5. Chapter 5 - The King

"Anyway… Saitama, I'm here to challenge you to a battle!" This sudden declaration surprised Saitama.

"No way! You always go all out even on newbies like me!" Saitama responded. He knows King loves to humiliate him on video games.

"No! Not on video games! A real battle like what you and the chick do!" King exclaimed

"Huh?" Saitama was confused. " _Did he get himself stronger?_ " "Did you train your body King!?" Saitama asked loudly.

"You didn't hear the news?" King questioned the baldy.

"What news? Fill me in…" Saitama asked back, wondering if King did train to get stronger and also what is this news he's talking about.

King grabbed the remote controller and turn on the television. Saitama is silently watching the actions of the otaku. After switching many channels, he saw the news he's talking about.

"Here! Watch that!" King ordered, which Saitama silently followed.

" **The F-City was attacked by a giant monster. This monster is calling himself Earthstomp. It is a Dragon Level Threat Disaster Monster and wrecks havoc to the F-City."** The reporter is a female one. And on the small screen on her upper-right, a footage is shown. The monster is a gigantic one, with a towering height of more than 100 meters. Its body is made of rock,soil, and dirt with some plants covering its body. The monster was seen punching the skyscrapers and stomping all of the unfortunate victims.

" **Luckily, before the scale of the damage caused by the monster increase, the S-Class Rank 7 King, the Strongest Man Alive, confronted the unfortunate monster."** On the screen, it is shown King standing idly in front of the monster. It was not obvious that he is shaking from nervousness. **"He easily dodged the attack of the monster"** On this scene, King is shown to easily dodged the attack by his move "Ultimate Fleeing Technique: Backwards B-Dash". **"and instantly killed Earthstomp with a one-shot by using his signature move 'King Style Energy Beam Ultimate Hellfire Burst Wave-Motion Cannon'."** King pointed his palms toward the monster. Then, a powerful beam with an extreme intensity and concentrated blast fired from the hands of King. The move easily de-materialized the upper body of the poor monster, becoming the first true victim of King's powers. **"The legendary attacked vaporized the upper torso of the monster, easily killing it off. Before the lower torso fell to the ground, King used again his another powerful move 'King Style Blast Wave III'.** King is shown pointing his right hand towards the falling lower body as he fired his another move, which he invented after he learned about his new powers. **"The collateral damage the monster can cause was reduced thanks to the mighty power of King. The legend of King killing monsters with one hit is proven to be true. It is astonishing how powerful a human being can be. King is promoted back to S-Class Rank 6 after losing the rank when the now S-Class Rank 7 Metal Knight, with an assistance of Former S-Class Rank 17 Genos and Former C-Class Rank 342 and now A-Class Rank 39 'Caped Baldy'-"** Saitama felt slightly annoyed when he heard his cursed hero name. **",destroyed the Dragon Level Threat Disaster Meteor before it struck the Z-City.**

King turned off the television with the remote controller as he approached the man with a bald head.

"It happened a while ago."

 **FLASHBACK ON**

It was 10:37 am in F-City. The legendary hero King is walking towards a gaming shop to buy new games he wants to try out. He is planning to introduce to Saitama the dating simulator games. He's tired of hiding the fact that he was a God-Level Tier Player in such type of games. Even though he has no love life or any interest in girls, he still plays it and he was hoping that Saitama will enjoy it as much as he enjoys it.

King is busy on his thoughts that he failed to hear the screams of the civilians running away from danger. They are sprinting away from the direction of the gaming shop where King is going to. " _Will Saitama-bro go to enjoy playing dating games? Or is he's going to think I am a gay? Well, dating games may help him get some ladies. He seems has no love life like me. Maybe this will do the trick hehe… I wonder what type of lady Saitama-bro likes…_ "

On the direction of the game store, a monster made of rock, soil, and dirt, with a towering height of 100 meters.

" **I am Earthstomp, The Colossal Giant! Nature awoke me from my slumber, begging to save her from complete destruction! You, humans, had proven you're nothing but an invasive species, trying to claim this world from Nature! As a punishment from awakening me from my eternal sleep, I shall end your invasive race by burying you all to your own technology and infrastructure!"**

The loud voice of the monster echoed throughout the city, scaring all of its inhabitants and breaking the train of thoughts of certain hero in a hoodie and a hat. The monster started its assault after giving its monologue. It stomps the poor humans with its giant foot as it swings his fists on the tall structures and buildings.

King's hoodie and hat were blown by the wind coming from the shockwaves of the footsteps of the monster, thus revealing his identity.

"King is here! King appears to save us! King the legend is here!" A citizen saw the face of the legendary hero and started screaming, getting the attention of more citizens and thus, making the situation worse for King. " _What the hell?! Why now?! I'm going to die twice today! From this monster and from shame!_ "

The monster noticed the commotion below his feet. He crouched to see the scene.

" **What's happening here, vermins!?** "The monster asked, which startled the citizens. All of the humans ran away from the monster. They hide on the back of King, which ignites his King Engine to its maximum level that all of the individuals near 100 meters (literally) will hear it! All of the people hear this, which makes them think that King is on his bloodlust mode, ready to eliminate monsters.

"King's going to erase you from existence monster!"

"King Engine is roaring! You're so dead giant!"

"Go King! Kill that giant dirt!"

These taunts make the monster mad. " **STOP! Show me this 'King'… I will face him. So I can proceed to eliminate the human race** " This declaration makes King a lot more nervous! " _WHAT THE HELL AM I GOING TO DO?! I CANNOT LET THESE PEOPLE DIE AND I DON'T WANT TO DIE TOO! I HOPE I CAN_ _ **IMAGINE**_ _TO KILL THIS MONSTER! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!_ " King suddenly felt a spring on his body began to lose. The King Engine breaks its limits! He's nearly going to black out!

"Here's King! Say goodbye to your sorry ass monster!" One of the citizens shouted while pointing his index finger to King.

" **So this is the 'King' huh…** " The monster quickly swings its massive fist, which makes all of the citizens run away, igniting their adrenaline. King, on the other hand, is still on his mind state. " _This is it! I'm going to die! I wish I can use my Ultimate Fleeing Technique:Backwards B-Dash for real!_ " King felt his body dashed at high speeds backward, completely evading the giant fist of the monster.

" **Huh?... So, you're not a simple human after all. You completely evaded my quick attack!** " King is still reeling from the shock that he escaped death. Not only that, he evaded the attack with a backward dash. " _What the hell happened? I dodged that attack! How did I do that? Wait a minute, did I dashed backward?_ " Then, an idea suddenly popped out from his mind.

King pointed his palms towards the monster. The monster seems confused at the actions of the guy. King then imagined firing his "King Style: Energy Beam Ultimate Hellfire Burst Wave-Motion Cannon" towards the monster. "Let's try this…King Style: Energy Beam Ultimate Hellfire Burst Wave-Motion Cannon!"

King shouted while imagining the move. The monster is dumbfounded, stunned at the actions of the poor guy. After three seconds, a powerful beam shot towards the monster, obliterating it in the process. The attack was so quick and powerful that the monster has given no time to react. The blast vaporized the upper torso of the body. The remaining lower part is currently falling, threatening the buildings surrounding it. King realized that he had acquired a power that makes his imaginary attacks a reality. With his quick thinking, he imagined firing another beam, weaker than the previous one but still powerful enough to disintegrate the lower body. "King Style Blast Wave III!"

The attack quickly vaporized the lower body, removing it from existence. The crowd cheered in pure hapiness as the threat was eliminated.

 **FLASHBACK OFF**

"Oh, so you acquired imaginary powers. That's great King!" Saitama congratulated.

"I want to challenge you to a battle to know the full extent of my powers and its limits. I know that you Saitama-bro is so powerful so I want to test to you my bounda-" King was cut out from his speech.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. But maybe three days from now. I want to take some rest from fighting as I already fought the midget. And you can use that time to train. That would be a great help in your powers and also on your career as a hero." Saitama blurted out. King is so lucky to have Saitama as a friend, or an acquaintance.

"Okay, now that's a deal," King stated.

"Yeah. Right." Saitama deadpanned. He tried not to be so excited, because of the fact that the midget failed to givehim a real fight. She's so near to achieve it but still, she failed to do so. And knowing that King is a newbie, especially on a real-life superhero thing, he might also not gave him a proper challenge. His hope to find someone to gave his a proper fight is starting to fade away. First with Genos. Second was on Burrito or Robos? Third is on Garou. And lastly on Tats the midget. All of them failed and King might also fail him.

"So, you've got a new television. Let's play some games…" King requested, which surprised Saitama.

"Maybe next time. I'm tired anyway and I don't want to see you now laughing at my face after my defeat." Saitama answered. King felt a small sadness, knowing that he cannot teach Saitama how to play dating games.

"I gotta go now Saitama-bro! And thanks again for accepting my request!" King bid a farewell as he ventured towards his apartment.

* * *

 **I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL PEOPLE THAT REVIEWED, FOLLOWED AND FAVORITED THIS STORY! THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT! SEE YOU ON NEXT UPDATE!**


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